Into Oblivion
by Thir13en7
Summary: Eragon has been turn into a Shade and he must become normal again before he fades into oblivion. Story can also be found on fanfiction dot shurtugal dot com under username skydragon
1. Chapter 1

_I'm going to die. _

Eragon was lying in the middle of the floor in a monstrous dungeon. He was chained to a massive iron pole emerging from the ground and up into the ceiling, if there even was a ceiling to be seen. The pole simply went higher and higher until it vanished into the darkness. Even Eragon's new sharp elven eyes were unable to see the top.

Scarcely any other object occupying the room except for the various torture devices and a peculiar magical bowl that sent up constant fumes, drugging him so much that he struggled for a few vain minutes to recall even his cousin Roran's name. Eragon was startled out of his reverie by the click of the locked door serving as his only exit out of the dreaded dungeon.

Somebody was coming.

That meant one of two options. Either one, he would be tortured. Or two, a meal would be served, only to be filled with an excruciatingly slow poison. Both were hazardous for Eragon's health, and both would eventually kill him.

The door opened and Galbatorix walked in. If it was the King it always meant torture.

"Hello, my dear boy," said Galbatorix, in almost a cheerful way.

"How are you today?" Eragon merely looked at him.

The drugs were terrible, but he knew this man was different. He was Eragon's very much living and breathing Hell.

"I have not seen you in days." Said Galbatorix with a mournful air.

If one would see Galbatorix the immediate solution to come to mind would be to never infuriate the king, and if that happened the antagonist would not live to see another sunrise, if not be tortured first. The king reached an intimidating seven and a half feet tall accompanied with a very handsome face, twisted, yes, but handsome nonetheless.

One solid scar ran down his face and eyes glowed like black diamonds. His huge six-foot-long sword, Wraith, was strapped to his back.

This man appeared to be able to kill any offender within an instant.

"Have you forgotten how to speak?" He asked, jokingly.

"It is very good way to communicate. You can't tell me to stop unless you tell me to." Eragon said nothing, and instead continued to stare.

"_Skrith_."

As the word was spoken Eragon felt himself begin to whisper. Then all of a sudden he was speaking out loud, answering all the questions Galbatorix asked.

"I feel like I'm going to die and no, I still remember how to speak!" yelled Eragon.

"Good. It would have been a problem to not be able to communicate with a mindless zombie," replied Galbatorix smugly.

"Remember, Eragon, you will become my slave. You and Saphira will serve-" Eragon tried to lunge at Galbatorix, only to be restricted by the chains.

"Come over here and let me rip your face off!" snarled Eragon

"I see you do not want to talk to me anymore," Galbatorix said slowly, drawing out every word. "You might have been given a little more time to enjoy the current state of your body. I suppose we will have to move forward then…bring it out!" The man commanded.

On command two soldiers entered, and between the two was a large strange object.

The two placed a stone in a compartment and in the act, the object came to life, issuing weird sounds and lights. Eragon had seen this item before because it was used on him many a time. It was the worst torture device Galbatorix had at his disposal.

"Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll die." Said Galbatorix demonically, an evil smile obscuring his face.


	2. Chapter 2

He just stood there. Unblinking eyes settling on him, watching Eragon's every move, every breath, and every shudder. The Shade simply stood content to do nothing except stare. Finally, he revealed a small flask, taking a long drought, and then placing in under his cloak once more.

Like every other shade he featured dark maroon eyes, a moon pale face, and the dark silky blood colored hair.

_Go to hell you demon… _

"Thank you." The shade said, interrupting the tense silence.

"What?" Eragon inquired, puzzled at the sudden statement.

"You commented that I was a demon. A thank you is in order."

_Damn! He can read my mind!?_

"Ah, yes, I can read your mind. Not that it is a very interesting subject." The Shade said smugly.

"Well then," replied Eragon calmly. "I surely cannot begin planning daring and risky escape plans without you discovering them, huh?"

"You, my friend, have been scheming escape plans for five months," he said. "But where are my manners? It must be a crime to not introduce myself by this time. My name is Kronos, Rider. You would be wise to remember it."

"Well, it really is a pleasure to meet you, but lets cut the crap!" snarled Eragon. "If anything, a sword would be mighty handy now to stab you with!"

"Ah, Galbatorix was indeed correct, you do have a temper," smirked the Shade. "We'll have to make use of that." At his words a soldier entered the room.

"Sir, the ambush party is ready to attack the Varden unit."

"What!?" Eragon exclaimed, dismayed by the news and his inability to retaliate.

"Very good," replied Kronos, ignoring Eragon's outburst. "Remember this carefully, none are to survive. The rebels will finally realize this in not a game we are playing, but a war they are readily losing. To ensure their understanding, bring me the head of young princess Arya!"

At these words Eragon pulled on the chains attached to his wrists so hard the chains began to give way.

"Get over here so I can rip your heart out, filth!" yelled Eragon, anger coursing through every bone. He wanted to inflict some kind of pain, or even better, kill the monster before he could lay his hands on Arya. Shades were monstrosities and deserved to die a slow and painful death.

The soldier glanced at him, obviously terrified of what Eragon could do if he escaped.

"Permission to leave, sir." He said, voice cracking, betraying his nervousness in the current situation.

_If looks could kill… _

"Yes, you are dismissed," Kronos waved a hand. "Leave me and our guest."

The soldier nodded, clearly relieved. He saluted briefly, and left.

After the soldier had left Eragon turned his attention to Kronos once more.

"You touch Arya and I swear I'll kill you!" Eragon barked.

"Do you ever stop making threats?" Kronos asked amusedly, his eyebrows raised.

"I'll stop when you die at my hand, filth. I killed Durza and I can surely kill you!"

In that split second Kronos grabbed Eragon's neck and lifted him up with one hand. Fury was etched upon every fiber of his face, his eyes now slits of anger and rage.

"Durza was a fool and I am not, _boy_! When our dear king is finished and bored with you, you will die at _my_ hand!" snarled Kronos, baring his pointed teeth.

"I'm…" murmured Eragon. "…I'm shaking." Kronos merely stared at him. Then, with an understanding, flung Eragon back into the pole. Eragon's head met with the pole, making a horrible sound of bone on metal.

Eragon was quickly losing consciousness, black spots danced in front of his eyes. He barely clung to the waking world.

"You will die, Shadeslayer, my brother will bring Arya in alive now. And I will give you the front row seat. She will become what you are now, a demon!"

Kronos slipped a mirror out of his cloak and breathed one word. "Garjzla." He said.

A small brilliant light appeared in front of the mirror, allowing Eragon to see into its depths.

He stared at his reflection in horror and disgust.

His hair was now a color in between a dark light brown and a maroon red. His face had almost lost almost all its color, and his eyes were now a fearful deep pitch black.

_What… What is this? …What am I? _

Eragon's new features were the final spark, and he gladly relinquished all hold onto the waking world and gave into the darkness in his mind.

Eragon was lying on the wet grass directly outside the Surda manor.

The country was covered in sand, but wherever an oasis was discovered, a city would most likely accompany it in only a matter of years.

The courtyard Eragon occupied was completely green. Beautiful flowers bloomed; tall healthy trees were large and filled with acorns. Bushes grew in a large abundance in the courtyard, covering more than have of it. The wildlife reflected the health of its home. Feisty squirrels fought over precious nuts and trilling birds were preparing nests for the upcoming and eagerly anticipated mating season.

_It's a perfect day,_ Eragon thought contentedly_. No more training for a week. Man, I love this. Nothing can go wrong. …Damn, I just jinxed myself. Oh well. _

"Eragon."

_Crap. More work!_ Eragon irritably turned to see Arya walking towards him.

Even though the elf was undeniably attractive, Eragon now only thought of her as a good and close friend. She wore informal clothing; a green shirt, comfortable looking sandals, dark blue shorts reached down to her knees, and her raven black hair was currently tied up in long lustrous ponytail.

"Greetings, Eragon." Arya said when she was within hearing.

"Morning, Arya svit-kona," Eragon cheerfully replied, once he saw it was only Arya. "Why are you here?"

"I am at liberty like you," she replied, a soft smile growing on her elven face. "I thought I would come out here to relax. What are you doing here Eragon?"

"Same thing as you I suppose. I'm just relieved I finally get a week off training. Though, it does kind of feels weird… having nothing to do."

"You simply have to learn to enjoy such an opportunity like this because you may never get another for a very long time."

_I believe Arya is right, Eragon._ Saphira commented, while gliding into the premises, sapphire-blue scales shined brightly in the morning sun.

"Hello, Saphira. How are you faring this morning?" Asked Arya.

_I feel very good, Arya, thank you. I was out hunting and I caught a very large bear. It was most delicious. _

"You caught and ate a bear?" inquired Eragon, alarmed at this news.

"That was a creature is called a relith, it is a very common predator in Surda," replied Arya. "Did you get injured fighting it?"

_No, I managed to kill the creature before it was aware of my presence. _ Saphira replied smugly, small spouts of smoke blowing out through her nostrils.

"That is good news."

Several moments of relaxed silence filled the air until Eragon's sensitive elven ears picked up the sound of an approaching figure. An allied soldier walked over and stopped several feet before them.

After making an appropriate greeting he said, "Lady Arya, Lady Nasuada wishes to speak to you. She says that it is nothing urgent, but she would still like to speak with you within the hour."

"Thank you."

"No thank you necessary, ma'am." He saluted and then immediately departed.

_What do you think she wants?_

"Nasuada probably wants to give some thank yous to people she thinks deserve to be awarded and she needs Arya to check them." Said Eragon.

"Yes, that may be it." Said Arya.

"Why don't you go now and get it over with?" He said.

_Yes, then you need not worry about it later. _

"Yes, I will go and do that now," she said, rising to her feet. "I enjoyed the time we had together. Thank you."

"No problem," smiled Eragon. "I'll just lay down here and rest."

"I shall see you later, Eragon. Good-bye, Saphira."

Arya left, and Eragon watched for several minutes as she disappeared into the manor. He sighed and turned his attention to Saphira.

_How do you feel about all this, Saphira? _

There was no reply.

"Saphira, are you listening?"

Again, no response was received.

Concerned, Eragon rose, but his heart stilled as he heard a voice speak from behind him.

"I'm sorry, brother."

Before Eragon was able to react, a heavy blow was dealt upon his head. He was unconscious before he even felt the wet grass upon his face.

He didn't even see the attacker.

But the voice was more than recognizable. He had heard it many times during battle.

Murtagh.


	3. Chapter 3

Arya was walking to Nasuada's quarters. _I do wonder what is so important that Nasuada would first give me one week of liberty and then call me almost an hour later. That's not like her. Maybe Eragon was right and she just wants me to check on some plans for her._

Arya went around the corner to see Nasuada walking to her. "Hello, Arya, how are you?"

"I am doing quite well, thank you. What is it that you-" Then it hit her like brick to the head.

_No…_

"What's wrong? Arya, what's wrong?" It was to late. Arya was already around the corner by the time Nasuada finished.

_Why did I not see it? That was no soldier, that was Murtagh! Why didn't I see past his illusion? How powerful is he that he escaped from _my _eye? No, that wasn't Saphira either, that was… Damn it!_

By this time Arya was in the courtyard. Looking up she could see a wine-red dragon in the sky about ten miles away.

Arya could just barely see a limp silhouette of a person hanging between the dragon's claws.

_Eragon… No… I'm sorry._

For a long time after the dragon was out of site, the sodden figure sat there and looked at the sky.

And her lips still moved, in a silent promise only she could hear.

"What do you want?"

Murtagh looked at him. _What does this to a person?_ Murtagh thought.

"Are you here to torture me again, _brother_?"

"Just shut up!" he said while hitting Eragon in the stomach. "Just…just be quiet!"

The pain made Eragon double over, fulfilling Murtagh's wish of him being quiet.

After almost two minutes the pain subsided and Eragon could speak. "What do you want?" He said, almost calmly.

Murtagh walked to the door and looked outside to find four of Galbarorix's elite soldiers, the Sellfar, guarding the door.

"Captain," said Murtagh to the soldier in charge. "Leave now, I want nobody to come in here or to be close to this door."

"I'm sorry, Lord Murtagh, but we can not do that. Only His Royal _Ass_ may say otherwise." Said the soldier, cross features showing on his face.

Murtagh snorted, this was perfect leverage. "You will leave now, or I could go and tell His Royal Ass that you just used his name in vain."

The soldier looked at Murtagh, wondering if he was bluffing. Murtagh knew he was doing this and mad sure his features did not show any type feeling.

"We will be in the anteroom." Said the captain.

"But, sir!" inquired a fearful soldier. "We will surely be put to death if the king finds out!"

"I'm sorry, Demyx," said the captain. "I have put all of your lives in danger. I apologize."

The soldier nodded and left for the anteroom, shortly followed by the other soldiers. Murtagh could not turn the man in. He was forced into this hell of a service as much as Murtagh was.

_I wonder…_

As Murtagh entered the dungeon once again he was met by Eragon's new black eyes. Chains were at the foot of the pole, a good ten feet away. Eragon was right in front of him.

Murtagh only had a nanosecond to react to a punch thrown by Eragon. Murtagh sidestepped and grabbed Eragon by the arm and twisted it around Eragon's own back.

"I'm sorry, Eragon, he's making me." Eragon tried to get out of Murtagh's arm lock only to be hit hard in the side.

"Stop! You can't beat me! I can't stop unless you do!"

"Well, I'll just have to knock you out then," said Eragon demonically. But this wasn't coming from the form in front of Murtagh. It was coming from behind. "Surprise."

Murtagh watched the fake Eragon fade into the darkness. But he didn't get the chance to turn around and watch Eragon pull his arm back and launch a fist at him, the hand met with Murtagh's head with a horrible sound.

Murtagh was hit so hard that he was flung into a wall, face meeting rock. He felt his nose crack, blood poured out like a faucet. Murtagh turned around to see Eragon charging at him. He sidestepped again and used Eragon's momentum to smash him into the wall.

"You son of a bitch!" Murtagh yelled while continually punching Eragon.

Eragon could feel bones crack as Murtagh crazily swung blow after blow at him, he could feel rib after rib cracking. Finally the punches stopped coming and Eragon sunk to the ground writhing in pain. He could see Murtagh standing next to him so he braced himself to be hit again, but the kick never came. He looked up to see Murtagh heal his nose then bend down to heal Eragon's broken bones. After a minute of healing Eragon was able to sit up.

"I'm sorry," he said while going to get the chains. "Don't worry I'll get you out of this hell-hole. I think some people might help," Murtagh locked the chains around Eragon's ankles and wrists. "I'll get you out of here, brother."

She was looking over a ridge wondering if the plan would work. Everything was set almost five months ago but only now would the plan work. _Everything_ had to be perfect, the moon's light had to be so strong, the best warriors had to heal from the battle back at the Burning Plains, even the timeframe had to be perfect.

Arya and Nasuada were watching the sun go down. The sky was beautiful with mixed colors of purple and orange and a forest covered completely in green was behind them. The view was perfect.

_This was what it was like before he was captured._ Arya's hand went down to sword instinctively to comfort her nerves.

"So," Nasuada said. "In the next twenty-four hours we will either have Eragon with us again, or we will know if he's dead. I'd really much more prefer the first one."

"He's not dead," said Arya. "Galbatorix needs Saphira, so if he wants her then he _needs_ Eragon. I just wonder what state he'll be in…"

"We don't know that, but that's also what's killing me, not knowing."

It was silent for a while as Arya and Nasuada watched the sun slip under the horizon. Everything was so peaceful, but very soon all of that could change. A soldier ran to them. Arya looked at all his features, eyes never coming off him to see if his features moved ever so slightly, as was an illusion's weakness.

"Lady Nasuada, Lady Arya," he said with Arya's eyes still on him. "We are ready to storm Helgrind. We only wait for your command."

"Thank you, General Lance, we will still wait for the appropriate time though. You are dismissed." Said Nasuada.

"Thank you, milady." He said while bowing. Lance left for his own tent to pray, hoping to be alive this time tomorrow and to get the chance to see his two beautiful children and his lovely wife.

"Arya."

"Yes, Nasuada."

"How sure are we that Eragon is _in_ Helgrind?"

"We are absolutely sure." She said in an almost irritated voice for Nasuada had been asking this since they learned of his location.

Nasuada took a deep breath completely relieved of this not-too-new news. "I must admit something," she said. "I am very scared."

Then from the woods came the recoil of a string, so very faint but so very recognizable, a bow.

The arrow flew through the air imbedding itself in Nasuada's left arm causing her to scream in pain. Arya turned around to see a Shade and about twenty Sellfar charging.

"Nasuada, get behind me, NOW!"

Another arrow was shot, only to be blocked by Arya's sword.

"Go towards the camp!" She said already running into the woods towards the encampment.

_We have to take them out, not only for the plan to work but to make sure we all don't die._

The Shade and his soldiers were only about five yards away sprinting to make it hard to dodge the incoming jab.

Arya got around two trees that were side by side, seeing soldiers behind each one. She could also see the shapes of marksmen in the trees above her. She saw the faces of the two behind each tree, they seemed so determined; Arya knew that this was suicide. If the enemy didn't get them the arrows would.

Once the first of the Sellfar passed by those two trees life seemed to be on fast-forward. Arrows were shot at the soldiers, including their two own comrades who valiantly struck down soldier after soldier, the marksman made had almost perfect aim, they hit the enemy troopers and yet the arrows seemed to go around their own. After about five seconds, over half of the enemy was dead.

Then Arya was smashed on the side with the handle of a giant scythe (imagine the grim-reaper costumes here people), holding the weapon was the Shade.

"Welcome to Hell."

The Shade slashed at her with his scythe barely cutting her skin. Arya did a series of moves too fast to be seen by a human eye, slash, jab, over-hand, backhand, jump-underhand, and over-hand. At the end of the her combo Arya's blade met the ground so hard that sent a recoil up her arm, paralyzing it for mere seconds, but those seconds were precious. The Shade spun in a clock-wise motion cutting anyone foolish enough to get close. Arya was close enough. The scythe made an absolutely clean cut, like slicing butter with hot knife. Arya was knocked onto the hard ground; her arm was split from her bicep all the way to the elbow.

"I expected more from you, princess," he said. "But I came completely prepared."

His hand went into his cloak and he pulled out a green gem that gave out a faint glow. Arya knew what it was; it was a teleport gem, it could send anything anywhere, but only to the location where it was assembled.

The Shade threw the stone at Arya and it hit her in the exact place were she was cut. Causing space and time to rip open, and let an unwilling elf into the heart of Helgrind.


	4. Chapter 4

It was like flying through darkness. Nothing was around Arya, she just seemed to be moving at a fast pace, but there was no way to tell if she was moving.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Arya was deposited in a giant guild. Tools for making weapons were stacked on the wall. The place smelled of sweat and melting iron and only thirteen candles were lit, barely illuminating the room.

The bad news was that she was surrounded by Sellfar troops. But the Sellfar weren't the only ones in the room. Arya could see Urgals mixed in with this group, both of the Ra'zac were side by side, and the most dangerous enemy was right in front of her, a Shade.

_How many Shades has Galbatorix recruited?_

Arya clenched her arm that was still bleeding like a waterfall. She could feel it slip off her arm and onto the floor in perfect view of the Shade. Arya saw the Shade tense up at the sight; blood was as sweet as the greatest bottle of wine in the world to a Shade.

"Detain her." He said, his voice cracking showing his eagerness.

Four Sellfar soldiers came to put chains around her. Each soldier came and put the shackles around her ankles and forearms.

But one soldier was different. He was the one to put chains around her right forearm, the arm that was cut by the scythe of the Shade. He carefully put the chain around her bicep not even touching the wound. When the chain was set he quickly locked it onto her arm. Pain erupted from her it, but it was swift and the chain was firmly set causing it to not quiver. But it seemed like something else too, Arya did not notice it at first but the lock was in the middle of the wound. It seemed to almost work like stitches, it was crude, but it almost had the same results.

"What took you so long, Captain, with collaring the enemy?" Questioned the Shade.

"I was making sure she was securely fastened, General Kronos." He replied.

There were interesting and important facts said in those quick sentences. First was the name of the Shade, Kronos. Second was the fact that the man who helped her was a captain. Usually, the higher in rank that they were, the more malicious they were like. The third fact was especially surprising. This captain was kind to her in front of a Shade, that meant he was not fully under Galbatorix, and because of his rank, more were likely to join him.

Then the other three soldiers started to writhe in pain on the floor.

"What are you doing to them?" the captain yelled. "I demand an explanation!"

"They did not make sure that they securely fasten their chains," Kronos said. "They deserved a punishment."

The face on the captain was that of pain and helplessness. The Shade knew what the captain was doing; it was completely obvious. Kronos went and hurt his own soldiers just to get a point across to another one.

_What hell of a service is this?_ Arya thought.

Finally the pain seemed to stop and the soldiers got up; Arya found thoughts of the soldiers run into her head at random.

_Why must I do this?_

_God… Please…kill me…_

"Captain Roland," Kronos said. "Please take her to her friend."

"Yes, sir." He said with no emotion.

Kronos went to the blood and he took out a flask and filled it to the brim.

"I must say, princess," he said smugly. "I cannot wait to taste the blood of your followers."

Arya looked at Kronos showing nothing on her face.

Kronos laughed, took a swig of her blood, and then he walked out the door.

"I will take you to see Eragon," Roland whispered so the Ra'zac and the Urgals wouldn't hear. "But I will have to cover your head with a sack or me and my men will have to knock you out."

"I will cooperate."

"Good." He whispered, handing her a potato sack.

"Thank you."

They were walking down a long hallway. Arya could barely see out of the sack but she could make out torches every other meter. Her arm was still bleeding through the shackles, but just barely. She tried to use magic to heal the wound but found that the chains prevented her from using magic.

"I must tell you something before you see him." Roland said.

"What?" Was her honest reply.

"Eragon looks almost nothing like his old self," said a soldier to her right. "I'm not sure you want to see him."

"Demyx, be quiet!" Roland said. "If someone catches you talking to a prisoner you will surely die!"

"Yeah, just shut up, Demyx, let the captain speak." Said a soldier that was behind her.

"Just shut up, Hermes," snapped Demyx. "You were just a delivery boy before you joined!"

"I was forced into this just like you were!" Hermes barked. "You act like this is an honor instead of hell!"

"Both of you shut up now!" said Roland angrily. "Demyx, you forget that you were a mere blacksmith before you were recruited. And Hermes, you were not the only one to be forced into this damned service. I saw my wife and kids slaughtered in front of me! Do not act like a lost little boy who only cares about his own problems!"

This seemed to shut them both up. They only grunted in recognition that they understood what he said.

Arya spoke up. "Captain Roland. Why are there Urgals with you? I thought they agreed to help the Varden."

"I thought that was obvious," said the last soldier, the one to her left. "The Urgals have no real rules or ultimate beliefs like we do. They decide on whom to join based on the chances of who will win. But the ones that join Galbatorix's army do not understand that they will be killed after the war if we do defeat the Varden."

"That is correct, Artemis," Roland said, and then he turned back to Arya. "But you may end this charade, princess, I know you only asked us this to prove that we would not harm you if you spoke freely. So what is your real question?"

Arya was almost shocked. For this man to see completely through her façade and even know that she would ask a question of this category. It proved that Roland was very intelligent.

"Yes you are correct, Roland. I did only ask that to see if I had liberty to speak openly. So I shall ask you my real question. Why did you help me?"

"It was because I am not the cruel type. I am not a person to go out into the street and mug a woman. It is just my nature." Roland replied.

Arya could tell he was holding something back so she said. "It seems I am not the only one not telling all that I want to say."

This made both Demyx and Hermes look up surprisingly at their captain. Artemis and Roland showed no signs of shock.

"Ah, it seems you are very clever, princess," Roland said amusingly. "I guess I shall tell you then. I did help you for those other reasons because it is my nature, but it was something else."

"It is because the ties that bind our forced oath to Galbatorix are weakening." Artemis said.

"Is that true?" Arya said, shocked at this revelation. "I have never heard of an oath that weakens over time."

"Normally, you give an oath because you want to serve someone to the death," Roland started. "But Galbatorix forced this oath upon us which takes away from his power. He has reserved power in a seven-colored to use as the power source of these forced oaths. Now Galbatorix continues to recruit more and more soldiers, and because of the stones limited supply it was forced into splitting the magic among those that have already been recruited."

"Causing less and less magic to be upon you." Arya stated.

"Exactly."

"Captain," Hermes said. "I do not feel any different than I did two months ago. Is it possible that the stone still has all the magic upon me?"

"No, Hermes," Roland replied. "You and Demyx have only been in this service for seven months while me and Artemis have for over two years. We would know if we had more freedom."

Arya looked the best she could at Artemis. He looked to be only in his later adolescent years (around 17), his voice seemed to be just getting to it's maximum deepness and his height seemed to be around the average of his guessed age, but because of the sack she could not get a clear look at his face.

_Could someone so young be in this service so long?_

"Well, princess," Roland said, interrupting her train of thought. "We have arrived."

Arya could feel the sack being lifted from her head, letting her see her see the soldiers more clearly.

If someone saw Roland they'd think of him as a smart and courteous man. He was not exactly handsome due to his nose that seemed to be broken on more than one occasion. He stood at around six feet with long legs, his hair and eyes were brown and a single scar ran from his ear to his cheek.

Hermes and Demyx could almost be confused as twins except for Hermes' black hair and Demyx's dark brown hair. They were both about six feet tall, but Demyx had about an inch on Hermes while Hermes had a stockier build.

Artemis was different from the others. He had dark eyes, long black hair, and he also stood at about six feet. The biggest difference though was that he looked like a natural soldier. He was both strong and tall and he walked with authority. Arya was correct about his age. He did seem to be only in later teens, but his eyes stood out the most. They seemed to show a dark world, it was just little flecks of gold in his eyes that gave the illusion that they were not so dark and mysterious.

"Captain Roland." Arya said.

"Yes." Was his simple reply.

"Who was the other Shade?"

"You're talking about Lucifer aren't you?"

"I believe so."

"You'd be better off trying to avoid him, he's the youngest of the three Shades Galbatorix has. There's Kronos who you met, Durza whom was killed by Eragon, and Lucifer."

"Thank you for the information."

"You're welcome."

Arya turned towards the door, opened it, and stepped in.


	5. Chapter 5

As Arya opened the door she could here a person hit his head on a giant metal pillar. She could barely see anything it was so dark. But then her eyes found the form of a human seeming to be looking directly at her.

"Hello, Arya." Said a voice that was all too familiar.

Roland lit a candle on the wall to illuminate the room. Arya finally got to see Eragon after five months.

"Who are you?"

She didn't like it.

"I guess friendships never really last." Said Eragon.

Arya stood there staring at him. She expected something bad, but not something in this category.

"Are you gonna stand there and look at what I've become? Or will you tell me what's going on?"

Seeing Arya after five months of torture was the best thing that could have happened to Eragon. But seeing her in this hellhole was almost too much for Eragon. Seeing her look at him like he was worthless was worse than torture.

"This is what I am now so will you start telling me what's going on?!" Eragon yelled.

"You're not Eragon."

"Why then?" he roared. "Why am I not the Eragon you remember?"

"Because the Eragon I remember would not resort to Shade's magic."

Eragon laughed.

"You really think I'd do that?" he said. "Well then, your not only a fool for letting your hate of Shade's get in the way of what's important; but your also going to believe that I'm happy Galbatorix turned me into this."

"Will you both just shut up!" said Roland. "Arya, you have to realize that this is Eragon your talking to and not some Shade! Eragon, anyone would be scared at you know at first glance so shut up and Arya will tell you what has happened! God, am I always dealing with children?"

This did shut them both up. But that didn't stop each other from glaring at one another.

At this point Roland was pissed so he went and punched Eragon in the back causing him to fall onto his knees.

"Are you both done yet?"

They both nodded.

"Arya, if you are not going to tell Eragon what happened then you will tell me."

So Arya told Roland (with Eragon listening) what had happened from when Eragon was kidnapped to when she was attacked.

"That is one hell of a story." Roland said.

"You know nothing of hell." Eragon said.

"Faster, Murtagh, you don't want to get cut."

"Why are you having me fight this boy?" Said a Shade.

"Because, Lucifer," said Galbatorix. "He must learn to be able to fight any enemy."

Murtagh slashed at Lucifer, trying to take his head off. Lucifer dodged at then swung at Murtagh's legs. Murtagh jumped to avoid the blow only to be punched in the stomach, hard.

"That is enough." Said Galbatorix before Lucifer could amputate an arm.

Murtagh was breathing so hard that he was almost gasping.

_Galbatorix, you bastard, you don't want to train me today. You just want to soothe your appetite for blood. You knew I couldn't dodge the scythe._

"Very well done, Murtagh," Galbatorix began. "Lucifer would have killed you in ten minutes instead of five, congratulations."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I would like you to go and help the torturers with their work with a new subject."

"Who?"

"I believe you may know this person," said Galbatorix happily. "I think her name is Arya, we caught her once before but…"

"What?" said a shocked Murtagh. "I will not torture a friend."

Galbatorix's face became stern. "You mean a friend who abandoned you. When Arya went to search for you she only found your clothes and then ran, even though she knew you were only a mile away. It was all because Lucifer was there. The young princess is a great coward when it comes to Shades. I only wished I could see her face when she saw Eragon for the first time."

"I will not do it!"

By this time Galbatorix was pissed at how much freedom was in Murtagh's little speech.

"You will do as I say, Leoths ra Fyrn."

Murtagh started to writhe in pain as his name was called. Galbatorix had Murtagh's true name for years, even before Murtagh escaped.

Finally, after what seemed a millennium, the pain subsided.

"Are you ready to do your task?"

"Yes I am, ebrithil." Said Murtagh with no life at all.

"Captain!" Demyx said. "Kronos is coming."

"Damn," said Roland. He turned to Arya. "We must chain you to the wall or else we will die and you'll lose your only hope of getting out of here."

Arya nodded and went up to the wall. Roland attached her chains to the ones on the wall. He then pulled out a knife.

"I'm sorry," he said while slashing Arya arm, leg, and stomach.

Kronos walked in with a malicious look on his face. "I see we have been at work, Captain."

"Yes, General Kronos, she would not talk. I only-"

"Is it your job to torture her, Captain?"

"No, sir. It is not my job." Said Roland.

"Well, I believe there is no harm done. You should be glad that I am in a good mood. Elf blood tastes so good it is addicting." He said, licking his lips. "Well? What are you waiting for? You are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir."

As Roland and the others left the room, Kronos turned his attention to Arya and Eragon.

"I see that the Captain only hurt our poor lady, here." He said while walking in front of her. "But I have a better idea."

Two soldiers took the same strange object into the room. Arya could see Eragon shrink at the sight of the thing. The soldiers took a stone out and placed it in a compartment, bringing the thing to life.

"You, Eragon Shadeslayer, will be welcomed to our home, the Abyss!"

Then all she could hear and see for the next two hours was worse than seeing Faolin die right in front of her.


	6. Chapter 6

"Do you still think I chose this path?" Said Eragon.

Arya stared at the floor. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw two days ago in this room. Eragon had been out for days after, though she saw that that was his only relief.

Sleep can be anything. It can hold you in a certain timeframe for eternity such as death. It can get you away from this world and let you live in your own fantasy. Though it can be the exact opposite of hope and happiness. It can be hell; a nightmare draws you into the darkest parts of your mind with no relief until you rise from your sleep.

But this world is one giant nightmare.

And still through it all we still find the tools of survival. We find friendships, family…and love.

Love is one of the worst emotions when it comes to duty. But still attraction is and always will be the worst. Attraction starts it all; first you see a stunning person who pulls your eye towards that person. Then you start to like that person because of looks, and then…it all goes downhill.

You find out that the person who attracted your eye is only out for one of two things, money and power. They act like you're their favorite person in the world; then they will start asking for small things. But then they get bigger and bigger until it comes to one thing.

But no, not everyone is this way. You may find a person that is desperate for love. You may meet someone who you can depend on, someone to actually to spend the rest of your life with. When this happens you may be called one of the luckiest people in the world.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Arya whispered, so quietly it was almost inaudible.

Eragon turned away. "You are a coward."

Arya just stared at the floor.

"You are scared at the sight of someone and you are afraid to help someone when that sight is in the room."

"I am not afraid!"

Eragon laughed. "You are an even larger fool to say that. You think I need to hear you say that you are a coward to believe it. Just turn around like you always do, face away and pretend that I'm not what I am."

"Do you know what it's like to lose someone you love!?" She screamed, tears erupting from her eyes.

"You know not what I've been through! I have seen people slaughtered right in front of me, I saw my father die before my eyes! I witnessed my mentor suffer a horrible fate from a wound I could not heal! Never! Never say that I do not know loss!"

Arya was a slumped figure on the floor for the next hour. She seemed to only channel her anger and hate of Shade's at Eragon. All her fear, anger, sorrow, helplessness seemed to be a tool to hurt him.

Then the door opened to reveal a drunken Murtagh. His hair was wet, probably from rain, and his eyes were unfocused.

_He is under Galbatorix's influence._ Thought Eragon to Arya.

But Arya responded entirely different than what he hoped for. She started throwing barriers around her mind and she shot daggers at Eragon's mind, fear enforcing these walls.

Eragon broke; he fed off the daggers and then went at Arya's mind at full force.

_You son of a bitch! Will you stop being afraid!_ He screamed through his mind.

Finally Arya calmed down but only to realize that Murtagh was carrying someone.

He threw the limp body at Eragon's feet and close the door behind him after he walked out.

It looked like this form had been badly tortured; scars and blood covered her entire body.

It was so bad that Eragon couldn't tell who the person was until almost a minute after Murtagh threw her in. Then it finally kicked in.

"No…" In front of him was the missing girl form Carvahall. Katrina lay dead in front of Eragon's feet.

Nasuada was tending to her arm in her tent when Lance entered.

"Is anything wrong, milady," he said. "You have not eaten in a day."

"I am okay," she replied. "Really, I am."

They had barely survived the ambush. After Arya was gone the Shade took another gem and touched it to his forehead, causing himself to leave. Nasuada knew this was a suicide run; they only wanted Arya for leverage. If Galbatorix knew of the raid then he would have sent more soldiers, he knew that the best men were with them. The Varden suffered casualties of course, the two who hid behind the trees were obviously dead, and then there were ten others who were quickly buried.

After two days of traveling they were about two miles from the most southern part of Leona Lake.

"Please, milady."

"Fine, fine."

They were in a very small forest that showed the sun through the treetops. The camp wasn't jumping with it's normal routine of sparring and fighting.

Lance took a piece of meat from a deer that they had found and slaughtered, and gave it to Nasuada.

"What do think of the events from the past few days, milady." Lance said.

"I do not know… It's that we could have him with us this very moment but… We messed up and we should wait here until we get another chance."

"Milady," he said. "I do not mean to be rude but we will never get another chance."

This made Nasuada look up at the treetops; she knew they would never get the chance. It was only wishful thinking.

"So, what would you like to do?"

"I have no idea…" She replied.

Arya could hear the screaming from her own separate cell.

Kronos had brought the thing again and used it once again on him.

_At least I don't have to see it._

Her cell was no different from Eragon's except that hers did not have the giant pillar coming out of the floor.

She listened to Eragon's screams for hours. They seemed to never end.

This brought the memories of her capture back with the vengeance of two dozen Urgals. All the times when Durza would come in through the cell door and try to ravage through her mind. Nothing seemed safe in that horrible place, but here it was a million times worse. It seemed that if you closed your eyes that someone would be waiting for you when you woke up. Here the torturers were professionals, not to say that Durza's were cake, but here they could always have a new method to use on you.

Not only was her physical state in danger but also she was losing a mental battle in her head. Time went by many times slower than usual and the stories she told herself from her childhood brought her no comfort. That is why Helgrind is the gate to Hell.

But at the top of the list of all the horrible things in Helgrind was the almost zero percent chance of escape. That alone seemed to suck the life out of you.

There was still only one option left.

_We're getting out of here._


	7. Chapter 7

Eragon felt the wind from Lucifer's scythe as it went past his ear.

So far they were doing well in the escape plan. But maybe because they had only gotten through phase one. But they really didn't think the plan would start this perfectly in the first place.

The first phase was to get out of the cells and that was probably the easiest thing on their "To Do" list.

When Eragon finally woke up after his torture, another two days later, Arya was able to make up and escape plan. After discussing this with Roland and Eragon they realized that this was a better plan than most by far.

Arya was happy that Roland said he and his squad would help them escape on one condition: they were to be freed of any wrongdoings they may have committed. It was a simple "yes" that ensured the plan had a success rate of about 15, far higher than anything else.

When the soldier came to give them their regular food and poison for the day, Roland ambushed him and killed him, taking the two swords he had. When Roland reached Eragon's room he found torturers hard at work, so he quickly slit their throats and freed Eragon. When they got to Arya's room they found nobody in there and they quickly freed her too.

Roland handed Arya one of the swords he stole from the now dead soldier and then he handed Eragon two, the other from the dead soldier and one of Roland's own.

"But I wasn't trained to fight with two." Said Eragon.

"You'll want both. Besides, I'm better with one anyway."

When Eragon took both the swords Roland led the way along a long hall. When they finally reached the end Eragon and Arya saw Artemis, Hermes, and Demyx. Hermes and Demyx both had one longsword and full body armor while Artemis had two daggers attached to his belt and he seemed content with a small breastplate and arm- and leg-guards.

"We only have about half an hour before they realize the dead bodies so we should get moving." Said Artemis.

After twenty minutes of going through the maze of Helgrind they found a small battalion of soldiers scouting the place. After a quick skirmish and after the alarm was sounded they were back to running like hell.

Then after another fifteen minutes they met Lucifer and a group of ten soldiers.

Eragon dodged another slash and then he parried the blow of another Sellfar, quickly decapitating his opponent. That left only Lucifer who was currently trying to kill Eragon, he thought because Galbatorix wanted Eragon alive he would want to have Lucifer do as his master wished, but nothing seemed to slow the Shade down. And then there were about seven soldiers left altogether.

Eragon saw Roland quickly make work of his opponent with an over-hand cut followed by a thrust. Hermes, with his longsword, was quite a sight, even with the heavy blade he seemed to know what his opponents next move was. Demyx had a different style in which he would quickly jump at his adversary and slash at random parts of the body, this seemed to work all of thirty seconds until he was cut across the back.

Artemis and Arya were a completely different sight. They moved gracefully slashing and parrying any blade. Artemis shaped both his daggers into an X shape to block an over-hand cut. Arya was absolutely stunning with her sword, she would block a slash then wait for Artemis to come by and finish the job.

By this time only Lucifer was left. But then they saw a group of about a dozen Sellfar running down the hall to help the Shade.

"You will lose, Shadeslayer. I will just have to tell master that you had to die or else the egg would be lost."

"What?" Eragon exclaimed.

"Eragon, no!" Roland said. "The egg isn't here so let's go!"

"Captain, we can't take on all those Sellfar troops!" said Demyx. "We have to fall back!"

"You guys go on ahead. Me and Eragon will by you time," Arya said. "Just mark your path with a cut to the wall."

Roland nodded and then he, Demyx, and Hermes fled down the hallway.

"Do you remember what happened last time you fought me, princess?"

Eragon saw that Arya was sweating with fright.

"Well this time she isn't alone." Said Eragon while charging.

Eragon took one sword and did a horizontal cut followed by an over-hand, but it seemed like it was nothing to Lucifer because he easily evaded both cuts and then retaliated by throwing the scythe. Eragon jumped off the ground to dodge the throw and then Arya caught the scythe.

"Looks like you have no weapon."

"I have to disagree," the Shade responded. The scythe then vanished from Arya's hands and then reappeared in Lucifer's hand. "Amazing what you can do with a teleport gem. Brisingr!"

A giant ball of black flame shot out of Lucifer's hand heading right for Arya.

"Skolir nosu fra brisingr!" Shouted Eragon, stopping the flame.

"Eragon, they're almost here!"

Eragon looked up to see the Sellfar troops almost ten yards away.

"Let's get outta here!"

Eragon and Arya started sprinting down the hall, only knowing which way to go by the gashes on the wall.

They ran and came to another corner and they quickly took that path but five steps later they found themselves falling towards grass. Then all of a sudden that grass turned into the floors of Helgrind and Arya and Eragon found themselves in more cells.

They both got up and looked around. "There's a path over here, Arya."

They found more gashes on the walls and twenty minutes later they met up with Roland, Hermes, Artemis, and Demyx. Demyx was on Roland's soldier, he had a big sever on his chest and he was bleeding badly.

"The asshole, he never had any skills with a sword." If you heard Roland say this you could tell that he cared about his subordinate.

"You guys run into any trouble?" Eragon asked through gasps.

"Yeah, we were met by two Sellfar and we ended up killing them but that was before Demyx was hurt." Hermes answered.

"I'm… I'm fine…"

"Just shut up, Demyx." Roland barked.

"We still have to get out of here." Said Arya.

"We can rest for five minutes, nobodies going to find us here any time soon." Artemis stated.

After five minutes and after treating Demyx's wound they started down the pitch-black hall.

"Here." Artemis said pointing to a snuffed torch.

He pulled it and a doorway opened revealing sunlight. They all shielded their eyes until they could see and found a sight that almost completely ruined their chances of survival.

Standing thirty yards away were forty Sellfar soldiers and both Ra'zac.

"Damn it." Said Roland.

"You will die today, foolsss." Said the first Ra'zac.

Then all hell broke through as some of the Sellfar soldiers started turning on one another. It was impossible to tell who was on whose side. They just fought each other by the faces of their opponents.

After Eragon got over the shock he quickly jumped into the action by slashing at a Ra'zac. Artemis, Arya, and Roland then quickly followed him with their swords (and daggers) raised.

One soldier came over to Eragon and said, "We're here to help." But then the soldier was slashed at and the good Sellfar just barely blocked the sword. Eragon then took one of his own swords and stabbed the bad soldier who was obviously the enemy.

Then both the Ra'zac jumped on Eragon who hardly blocked the cuts. He then took one of the swords and lunged at the first Ra'zac while blocking the other ones blade. The Ra'zac evaded the blow but then followed up with a side cut that Eragon blocked with ease, but it was the other Ra'zac that was bothering him as he parried the other blow.

"Garjzlarela!" Yelled Eragon.

Then two giant bolts of lightning came down and struck both of Eragon's swords. The blades glowed with the power while also sending static electricity up his arm causing Eragon's hair to stand up.

"Behold the power of heaven!" Eragon cried out while swinging at a Ra'zac.

The creature blocked the blow with its sword but then the monster suddenly lit on fire. It screamed and then fell over dead.

Everything was silent.

"Come. You will bear my judgment. I decide if you go to heaven or if you shall rot forever in Hell!"

Eragon's eyes were completely white, almost matching his skin. His muscles pulsed with power, and he was laughing as if this was the greatest joy in the world. He turned to the other Ra'zac.

"You will be one of the damned in Hell!" He said.

Even though the other Ra'zac was twenty feet away Eragon soundlessly appeared behind the creature.

"Welcome." Eragon whispered and he took the Ra'zac's head off.

Then everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

He woke up about three hundred yards away from the battle sight. Eragon could make out a crow swoop down and pick up a piece of the decapitated Ra'zac head. Once it had its food it devoured it and jumped up to fly only to fall to the ground dead.

_Poison 'til the end._

Eragon got up to walk and noticed that nobody was around him. Arya and Roland and everyone else were gone.

He walked around trying to find a trace of his friends. Nobody seemed to have been here in days.

As Eragon found nothing he felt his head pound from exhaustion and helplessness. Nothing made sense to him, a tree would look like the pillar in his head, and the grass was a brownish color, making it look just like his cell floor.

_So I'm probably crazy already, huh?_ Eragon laughed in his head from his own remark. _Welcome to your old life._

Eragon walked aimlessly South for hours. South was good, the farther away from Uru'baen the better. Plus Surda was to the South and Surda meant allies were near.

Before he knew it the sky was pitch-black. It seemed like the moon didn't want to see Eragon's pitiful state either.

Then out of pure tiredness he fell to the ground to sleep. Thought this was the first time in five months that he could rest without the worry of torture.

"So tell me exactly what happened."

"Well, Lady Nasuada," Roland said. "None of us really know."

By this time, Nasuada was pissed. "You were there, were you not?"

"It's not like we were not there," Roland stuttered. "It's the fact that we…well we don't know what happened."

"Nasuada," Arya said while trying and failing to calm her. "It was very confusing. It seemed as if Eragon lost all of his sanity."

"Yes," Roland added. "He said something like grathla…gastrel…"

"He said garjzlarela, the Ancient Language word for lightning."

"Go on," Nasuada pestered.

"Well he said grazla…grala…that's not the point. You see after he said whatever he said, two giant bolts of lightning came a struck both the swords I gave him. Like electricity danced around them like eels," Roland said, motioning with his hands to create affect. "And then he just went berserk. He killed every soldier there with his blades. I must say it was magnificent."

The room they were all in was small, just big enough room to fit four people comfortably. There was no real decoration in it except for the plant in the corner and a table where Roland, Nasuada, Arya, and General Lance all sat discussing the news.

"Are you telling us that Eragon is now insane?" inquired Lance.

Now it was Arya's turn to speak up, "I would not say insane for he was quite himself in Helgrind…almost…"

"Is he really a Shade?" asked Nasuada.

"In a general sense, yes," said Roland. "But he did not use spirits to morph him into his current state. Galbatorix has a special object that pumps dark energy into the victim's body. He has done it before…the results were…devastating. The victim either went insane with power until we killed him or he would just vanish into who knows where."

Everyone just stared at nothing while thinking of what this could either benefit or hurt the chances of winning the war.

Nasuada had a frightened look on her face, one that would be used if you were worried about the future. Roland seemed worried about Eragon; it was almost as if by fighting next to him that they gained a strong relationship. This was not unheard of but it was definitely rare. For one to care for another after a day of knowing someone was very unusual.

It was not obvious what was going on in Lance's head. She had not known him very long, she only knew him as the friend he was to Eragon.

Lance was not a born soldier like Artemis. He was relatively short against the other soldiers, about five and a half feet. He was not an athlete but one thing was very different about him. Lance was the best soldier with a spear. He could impale anything from close combat to javelin throwing. Not only that, but he was the best tactical adviser to Nasuada.

Lance did not have a real name. He chose the name Lance because of his skill with the weapon. Lance was found after the battle of the Burning Plains with no memory. He guessed that he was probably a thief trying to find spoils after battle.

Lance was not all the old, only around his twenties. Maybe because of his little experience and his sudden career of a soldier was the reason why he was such good friends with Eragon.

As Eragon was a simple farm boy, he did not grow up learning tactical plans to use in a raid or live in a castle with an insane king who plotted the downfall of his enemies. Eragon was not given a great choice because of Saphira hatching for him. Life was simple for him: Watch out for thieves and put food on the table. His life could be called ruined in a sense, but to many, he would be something of a future savior. It was a good thing they didn't know he didn't know that he had no interest in becoming a monarch.

"What do we do with the rest of the army, Lady Nasuada?" Lance asked.

"I am trying to figure that out," Nasuada said, rubbing her temples to lessen the pain of a headache. "What happened to him after he killed all the Sellfar and Ra'zac?"

"He seemed to be searching for blood," Arya said. "After he realized this he dashed into the forest. We found many dead animals."

"What happened to Eragon?" asked Lance.

"We do not know," Roland said. "We did not want to find him still searching for blood and then be impaled by our own friend. No, we headed to Surda almost immediately. We knew that Eragon could take care of himself."

"How sure are you?"

Eragon woke up to the smell of meat cooking. He searched for the source until he found dead bodies being stacked up into a pile and then burned.

He could see the Varden troops stack Galbatorix's battalion on top of each other.

_Finally, maybe these people can take me to Nasuada._

"Hey!" Eragon yelled.

Eragon could hear a sword swishing threw the air. It seemed to be coming right for him.

Eragon easily sidestepped the attack and yelled, "I am Eragon, the Rider of Saphira!"

"Get everyone out here, there is a Shade!"

_Humph. I got to prove it somehow, but what. Why are they even trying to attack me anyway, they know that their going to die if they do._

As soldiers came out to fight him Eragon saw looks of complete fear on every one of their faces. But yet they all seemed to be ready to fight them to the death.

_At least these soldiers do not have complete fear of me…like Arya._

"Wait," said one soldier.

He came up to Eragon and looked him right in the eye. It was weird to have a soldier stare into the eyes of the "enemy."

"Eragon? Is that really you?" the soldier said while taking off his helmet, revealing none other than…

"Roran!" Eragon exclaimed at the sight of a friendly face.


	9. Chapter 9

"So what has happened in five months?"

Eragon and Roran were sitting in a small tent next to the edge of the forest. And Eragon was eating his first real meal in what seemed like forever.

Everything was normal for the most part about Roran. He had his usual hair, usual stubble of beard; all in all he seemed like the same Roran that Eragon had not seen in five months.

When Eragon demanded meat with his meal Roran was surprised.

"You don't eat meat, right? I mean like through your training you came to hate killing."

"I realized that I don't give a damn anymore. Everybody is gonna die someday, besides their better of dead than in this hell-hole we call home."

Roran was obviously shocked at Eragon's appearance; anyone would be if their cousin came home only to look like a monster. Roran thought Eragon would be dead but at least he was alive.

"Well," Roran started. "Life hasn't gone that great when you were gone. Nasuada practically went into depression after she found out what happened to you, especially who did it."

Eragon stared at the floor. He once thought of Nasuada as a person who get through anything. She got over her father quicker than most people would.

"She thinks of you as a brother, Eragon. Eragon are you listening?"

"Yeah, yeah," Eragon mumbled. "What about everyone else?"

"I was promoted to Captain of the 472 battalion. Arya went back to tell Islanzadi about you personally with my crew and me. I told you about Nasuada. Lance is the same as always. I saw Oromis and Glaedr, they're doing fine."

By this time, Roran was counting off his fingers. But one thing still remained.

"What happened to Saphira?"

"Oh, I guess that nobody got around to telling you about her, huh?" Roran asked.

"No."

"Well. I guess I better tell you then. You know most of the story, like when Murtagh took you and Arya went ah…" he said. "But anyway, Saphira, or the one you were talking to, was Thorn. Murtagh copied what she looked like after seeing her once. So after you were taken, we found Saphira in some coma out in the desert. The elves confirmed that she was in this state and could only be woken up by her rider, which didn't help because you were…"

Eragon was overjoyed after hearing that Saphira was safe. It was the best news he had heard in so long. Eragon couldn't think of life without her, being separated for so long was enough torture. Yet still Eragon had to tell Roran something in return.

_I have to tell him… He- he deserves to know…_

"Roran…" Eragon began.

Roran looked away.

"She's dead, isn't she?"

Eragon turned away to look out the tent flap to see that the bodies had been reduced to ashes.

"It's okay, Eragon, I knew that she was going to die in there. I just wish…"

There was a long pause in the talking. Eragon saw the soldiers spar with themselves. He admired the way that they trained for the next battle even after finishing one only hours ago. Eragon, wanting to change the subject quickly asked, "What were the casualties?"

He pretty much hit his own head after the comment. The worst thing to talk about after conversing about death is death.

Roran seemed to notice Eragon wince after he spoke.

_Well...I guess being threatened for months makes one think of death a lot, _Roran thought.

Katrina dying was not very hard on Roran. It was as if he already knew that she was going to die. It wasn't a secret that no one has ever come out of Helgrind alive…well, almost nobody.

"We didn't lose any men," Roran responded to Eragon's comment earlier.

"How?"

"We used these devices called mines," Roran said.

"Mines?"

"Do you ever stopping askin' questions? But the thing is that these mines cause explosions that can take out three men at once. You just lay some in the ground, cover them with grass or leaves, and then wait for the enemy to go boom. King Orrin developed them, and my God, do they help..."

"So he's still an inventor?" Eragon said.

Eragon had met Orrin before on more than one occasion. The King had almost always been coming from his lab when Eragon would see him. He had heard stories that Orrin used magic in his work to create something called chemicals. He said chemicals made up almost everything, even the air we breathe. At one point Eragon was present at one of his more dangerous experiments that ended up with Eragon saving Orrin from disappearing along with half of the table.

"Yeah, I swear, he's gonna kill himself and leave us with an even _heavier_ burden."

Lucifer and his battalion of Sellfar and regular soldiers were at the edge of the Du Weldenvarden forest.

Because of the cloaking spell that Galbatorix personally constructed, they were not detected.

"We shall wait for sunset then attack at sunrise."

A chorus of "Yessir" was heard followed by the soldiers setting up a small camp.

Lucifer would much rather attack during the night, when he was the most deadly. He was not called the Graceful Assassin of the Imperial Army for nothing. Lucifer could use the dark to its full advantage, he could kill numbers of elves without breaking a sweat, but even numbers mattered.

The dark could conceal anything from lies to death. Naturally, normal people were frightened of the dark. Pride got in the way of telling the truth that we did fear it. But a man who had true wisdom could realize that it was not the dark that man was afraid of…they were afraid of what was lurking in it.

Men told stories of missing people who then reappeared, only to take revenge on all because nobody looked for him. People's imaginations told them that the stories were real, so they were scared of that missing person, not the dark itself.

You could stand in a room filled with light and have one small corner covered in complete darkness. You were not scared of the darkness because you were not in it.

But man's imagination never imagined what could hide in the light.

We are used to the twilight for we want to have both light and dark to reveal all things that we cannot see or understand.

The twilight rests between the two powerful entities. It uses the light to reveal what is in the world while also using dark to give the world shape and value.

Man is a cursed race. We say that we are superior to all animals yet we live in constant fear of each other. Foxes do not hunt each other yet humans kill one another because of fear and greed.

That is why humans deserved to die in Lucifer's eye.

"Sir, when would you like to travel into the forest?" a soldier asked him.

Lucifer looked the man in the eye, causing the soldier to shudder. This man deserved to die like all the others, but until the Day of Judgment, he was an ally.

"We will travel in groups of ten through the forest at night and enter the palace. We are not to attack anyone until the Queen is in our hands. She will be in the clutches of Galbatorix within days."


	10. Chapter 10

Vanir woke to an uneasy feeling.

The forest of Du Weldenvarden was always peaceful. No battles had been fought in the forest for one hundred years, with the exception of sparring.

If you woke to an uneasy feeling, then something was different. And if something is different in an almost perfect utopia, then that something was bad.

Vanir got up from his bed and healed his sprained ankle that he received in a sparring session. He put on a dark colored tunic with brown leggings, anything dark that could blend him in with the shadows.

He quickly took his sword and dagger, and went out the door. Of course, he could see almost perfectly, but for some reason there was fog outside.

Fog wasn't normally bad, for it was just part of nature, but there had been no grounded clouds in Ellesmera in years. Though this disturbed Vanir, he didn't pay the fog any attention and quickly headed to the palace of Islanzadi.

On his way towards the palace, Vanir saw more patches of fog. By this time he knew something was afoot.

_This is no ordinary fog. _

The patches of it were too far apart and were relatively small to be anything made by nature.

Vanir knew that he shouldn't get close to mist; it was probably filled with soldiers.

_Why do they not try to strike me down? Why are they charging straight into the middle of Ellesmera?_

As Vanir thought, he heard a slight crackling sound grow. Then came the slight glow of a candle. But a candle did not crackle, fires however did.

Vanir saw an elf carrying a giant ball of water and he tried to get the elf's attention.

"Hey! Stop!" Vanir yelled.

The elf came to a stop and said, "I cannot, the Menoa tree has caught fire!"

Both elves left towards their destinations, the tree and the palace. _Something_ was happening, but what was it?

The soldiers in the mist were most likely Sellfar troops; they were the only ones who stood a chance against elves. And the fire was used as a distraction, which left two things that were possible.

A takeover or a kidnapping.

He had to tell Islanzadi, it was his duty. It was his father's duty. Though, nothing prepared him for what was coming straight at him.

The arrow made almost no whistle as it went through the air.

Vanir ducked and saw the bolt imbed itself in the tree that was right next to him. But he did not see the powder on the arrow that was burning.

There was an explosion that threw Vanir towards a nearby tree. He hit his head and saw that the patches of fog disappeared and were replaced with Sellfar troops.

Whatever that something was, it was going to start soon.

Then Vanir relinquished himself to the darkness in his mind, bringing a fitful rest.

Eragon, Roran, and Roran's squad were about to the border of Surda. Eragon could see the edges of the desert as they drew nearer and nearer.

"This is where the hard part begins," said Roran.

As Eragon walked through the desert, he pulled the heavy blanket closer to himself. He didn't give a damn if he was a freak or a Dragon Rider, it was freaking' cold.

After walking for a good four hours through winds and sand, Roran decided to set up camp.

Eragon noticed that something about Roran had changed. He walked with more authority, spoke in a voice that demanded that one hundred and ten percent should be put into work, and yet he found time to care for the wounded in his own squad.

He was no longer the Roran who was unsure of himself when he was leading Carvahall to the Varden. He was a hero.

"You cold?" he said.

"No," replied Eragon, even though he was freezing his butt of. "How far 'til we get there?"

"I'd say about another two hours if we keep a fast pace. If you want, you can go on ahead and we'll meet you there. We can spare you an extra blanket too."

"Sure, I can probably get there in about half an hour. Plus I'd like to sleep in an actual bed," Eragon said with a grin.

This was the first time Roran saw Eragon smile since he found him. It looked almost menacing with his features, but if you knew him, you'd know that he was just a kid.

"Here," said Roran while handing Eragon a blanket. "See ya tomorrow."

"A Shade! A Shade is coming!"

Eragon sat patiently by the gates as soldiers circled around him. He couldn't ask for a better welcome party.

"Do not fight me," he said. "I am Eragon, rider of Saphira."

The soldiers tensed as Eragon spoke.

_Well then, looks like I have to do this the hard way._

Eragon ran straight towards the wall with as much speed as he could muster. Then he jumped and landed horizontally on the wall and ran straight up it.

When he reached the top he jumped up and landed on the other side of the wall. Then the dumbstruck soldiers recovered and charged into the gate, ready to kill.

_This may actually be challenging, I'm going to have to do this without killing anyone._

He ran into the palace while dodging arrows that seemed to narrowly miss him. Eragon had to get to Nasuada's room; she might be there to call them off.

As he ran up the steps, he could feel a powerful aura that seemed all too familiar.

Eragon ran down towards the ground level while sensing the power grow stronger as he ran to the source.

Finally, he reached a door. The feeling was drawing him to this room, nothing mattered as he stood at the door, the soldiers, Nasuada, Arya; they didn't matter for what lay beyond the door was greater than all of them.

Eragon opened the door to see a giant sleeping form in front of him.

He walked towards it carefully, until he was a yard away. Then he slowly lifted his arm until it was a foot away from the creature.

The room Eragon was in was giant. It seemed to be able to fit almost anything. The room had reddish stones for walls and it was well lit.

Eragon took a step closer and touched the brow of the dragon. As he met the dragon's forehead, he saw a blinding light that sealed his hand to the dragon.

Then everything changed about the dragon.

Her blue scales turned a blackish-blue color, her wing membranes turned silvery, almost none of her body was the same.

But then, the dragon shuddered and then opened her eyes. Her eyes were the same beautiful color as before, a dark blue.

_Eragon?_

"Good morning, Saphira."


	11. Chapter 11

"How are you, Saphira?"

Eragon and his dragon were in the same room as before. None of the soldiers had yet found them.

She looked at herself and Eragon. _I see you have changed, little one, _Saphira said. _As have I. Tell me what has happened._

Eragon told Saphira everything, his capture, Arya, the Shades, Katrina, Roland's crew, Roran, and everything else.

_That is a very interesting story, Eragon. I'm sorry for what happened to you. Though, I do wonder why I am this way._

_I do not know, Saphira,_ Eragon said. _Maybe it is because of our link._

_Possibly, but I insist that you get behind me. The soldiers have found you._

None other than the Eragon's favorite sorceress, Trianna, blasted the door open. For one fleeting second, Eragon thought this would be easy until he heard: "Surround the Shade!"

Eragon looked down at the floor and then suddenly laughed a hearty laugh.

"Hello, Trianna. Good to see you again."

Finally, Eragon got the reaction he was hoping for. Trianna looked at Eragon, then at Saphira, then back at him again.

"Eragon?"

"Yep," Eragon replied with a grin.

But this reaction lasted only ten seconds. For Trianna said, "So Eragon, you resorted to dark magic. I don't care why you did it, but know that I will kill you."

_Greeeeeeat._

Trianna suddenly let out a burst of magic through her palm and directly at Eragon's chest. But once it hit him, it did nothing.

"Can't you see that I'm still the old Eragon?" he said.

Trianna replied with a shot of magic and a retort, "The old Eragon wouldn't resort to dark magic!"

_Where have I heard that before?_ thought Eragon as he dodged the shot from Trianna's fist.

By this time, Saphira had had enough. She got up on her rear hunches and roared so loud that everyone had to cover their ears. It got so loud to point were they could not hear the vibrations anymore.

Eragon felt his ear that was leaking blood.

_Saphira! Stop!_

Saphira calmed down from her deafening roar and replied to Eragon, _I'm sorry, little one. I do not know what happened. I was going to shoot a shot of fire into the air but the scream came out. I am sorry._

"Saphira? You're awake?" Trianna said.

_Yes, and if you don't believe my rider's word then believe mine. This is Eragon. He is not a real Shade._

"But…then why…how did you… Aw who cares? Eragon, come with me," she said while exiting the room.

_I guess I'll see you later, Saphira,_ said Eragon.

_Yes, I shall see you later, Eragon._

Eragon left Saphira and followed Trianna up three flights of stairs. They then left the stairway, went down a long hall and then entered a tiny room.

The room was different then what he usually saw in the palace. There were bottles, tomes, plants, and everything else you'd usually see in Angela's tent. The room was painted a blackish-purple, one painting hung on the wall.

The painting portrayed two older people, a man and a woman, a small infant, and a girl in her child years. They were looking at a magnificent waterfall that showed every color of the rainbow. Eragon noticed that they all had dark hair and stunning blues.

"It was my first attempt at a fairth," she said. "I think I did pretty well for my first try. It was as if that picture came straight out from my memory."

"So is that you," Eragon said, pointing at the girl.

"Yes, that is me, and my parents and my baby brother."

"It's beautiful," he said.

"Thank you. But I must say, it is time to get to business," she said while taking two small stools out from a cupboard.

"I suspect that you want me to tell you what has happened all this time."

"Yes, that would help."

So Eragon told Trianna everything. Eragon could feel weight release from his shoulders as he told her, but then he realized that this happened every time. He felt a sense of relief from telling someone; it was as if they were sharing the pain.

"That is some story, Eragon. How can Galbatorix get an item that does this? By the way, what is a teleport gem? I have never heard of something like that in my studies," she said.

"A teleport gem transports anything from one point to another."

"But," she said, "what's the point? I can send items away with magic."

"No," he said. "A teleport gem is different. It can send anything with the gem without using any energy. If you try to send a live animal, it will probably end up dead at the point that you send it to. But in the case of sending Arya, they had to get her there alive, so they had to use a gem."

"Ah, I see. Now, please tell me how you became…what you are."

Days left: 358

Vanir woke to the smell of something cooking. He realized that he was in a comfortable bed and not the hard ground where he fell asleep. Then Rhunon walked into the room.

"Hello, Vanir," she said. "It's about time you woke up."

Rhunon placed a bowl of roasted vegetables onto the bedside table next to Vanir.

"What happened?" he said, finding his voice was scratchy.

"Please, refrain from talking, you were hit on the neck from a falling tree branch. Please communicate through your mind."

_What happened Rhunon svit-kona?_

"The queen was kidnapped by a Shade," she said.

_A Shade! There are more Shades?!_ he thought.

"Yes, he took the queen by surprise and lit the Menoa tree on fire. Our queen was kidnapped and about fifty elves are dead."

Nobody spoke for many minutes until Oromis entered the room.

"Rhunon," he said. "The bodies of our brethren have been burned and have join the forest. How are you, Vanir?"

At first Vanir was surprised to hear Oromis not address Rhunon's title, but he realized that it was not his place to talk of such things so he replied, _I feel very good, Oromis-elda. Rhunon svit-kona says I was injured but I do not feel anything._

"I gave you numbing medicine," Rhunon said. "I will leave you some for when you leave for the Varden."

_The Varden? Why am I going to the Varden?_

"You are being sent there to help train their soldiers with Eragon. I will be joining you," Oromis said.

_Eragon is back? How do you know he has escaped?_

"I have scried him, he was running through the desert of Surda," said Oromis. "Rhunon, is Vanir healthy enough to walk with me?"

"Yes, I believe he is. After a week of recuperating, I think he can go on a simple walk, but no sparring for quite a while.

_I was out for a week!?_

"It was from the medicine I gave you," Rhunon replied quickly to calm Vanir. "You would have woken sooner but I think you could do without the pain."

_Thank you,_ he said.

"Vanir, follow me," Oromis said.

As Vanir got up from the bed he found that he did not have the greatest amount of balance in the world. Elf or not, a hit to the head like that could mess you up for a while.

When Vanir became used to walking again he followed Oromis out of Rhunon's home.

When Vanir left the house the first thing he smelled was smoke. Though what he smelt was not exactly true for the smoke smell lingered as to mock the race for their carelessness. Tree houses were burned to the ground, ashes filled the city streets, and for once in a very long time, Vanir saw a woman cry.

Though Vanir would not call it carelessness, he would say that the utopia was ambushed and that the Imperial Army attacked like cowards. But everyone knew that fog was not common, it should have been reported immediately. These were times of war, you should be on guard at all times for an attack. But the elves thought that the city would never be found, they _were_ careless.

"Oromis," Vanir said. "Who is leading us now?"

"The elven generals are," he replied. "They asked me to lead, but I refused. I may be a Dragon Rider, but I am not a leader."

"What do you expect the Imperial Army will do now?" Vanir asked.

"I do not know. We were completely unprepared for this attack, that king may do anything. I wouldn't be surprised if he sent a thousand troops on a suicide mission and pretend that his forces were weakened, then we'd attack him and fall into his trap."

They walked in silence all they way until they reached their destination, the location of the late Menoa tree.

"Oromis-elda, what are we doing here?" Vanir asked.

"The ground you are standing on his sacred, please take off your sandals," Oromis said, not answering Vanir's question.

Oromis walked out and stood in the very middle of where the tree was located. He folded his arms and sat on the ground and started to say Ancient Language words under his breath.

Vanir watched as Oromis meditated on the patch of earth. Then Vanir noticed a movement in the ashes but nothing more and then dismissed it. But then it happened again, and Vanir barely saw that movement again.

Vanir squinted and stared at the ashes and then saw the movement once again. This time he saw what was going on.

The ashes of the Menoa tree were ever so slowly moving closer to Oromis. He continued the meditation until a large pile lay in front of him.

Oromis took a jar, placed the ashes inside, and closed the jar. He then took another jar and repeated the process. He did this until he had five jars filled to the brim with the ashes.

He then turned to Vanir and said, "It is time to return to Rhunon."

A whole week passed by in almost the blink of an eye.

Eragon met Nasuada who burst into tears at the sight of him and then started to blame herself. Eragon was happy to see Lance, Roland, and Roland's crew once again. Saphira was happy to be back in the air once again after five months and Angela greeted Eragon as if nothing had changed.

Eragon was currently sparring with Roland, Roran, and Arya at one time.

They were trying to get Eragon back into his normal shape after all his torture. All of them were presently kicking Eragon's ass. With Arya on their team it was almost unfair. Roran ended up replacing his hammer for a full-on battle-axe. He was so good to the point that he could hold his own with a very, very weak elf.

Eragon dodged Roland swing and then blocked both Roran's axe and Arya's sword. He was getting pretty good with two blades, he liked the idea of being on the defensive at the same time of being offensive.

Eragon did a back flip and gently put his sword onto Roland's neck while saying, "Dead."

Just Arya and Roran were left. Eragon charged and then put on a burst of speed with magic. He evaded the swing of Roran's axe and then quickly put his sword to Arya's neck while again saying "dead."

Eragon and Arya had come to an agreement, well it seemed like one. They would both act as if nothing had happened. They knew it was childish but it gave them both a type of reassurance.

Roran was the last one. Eragon could see him swallow with the fear of being hurt by his cousin. But then, out of nowhere, he felt a dagger against his throat and then he heard a voice say, "You never know when a new enemy will arrive."

Eragon turned around to see Artemis sheath the dagger he had. Roran let out a grateful sigh.

"That's cheating!" Eragon said while showing everyone his childish side.

"There is no cheating in war," Roland said.

"But we were sparring. Sparring is a one on one, or in this case a three on one, challenge."

"Well it turned into a four on one when I decided to join," Artemis said mockingly.

"Rider Eragon, milady Arya!" a soldier yelled while running to them. He reached them and took a deep breath. "Milady Arya, Ellesmera has been attacked!"


	12. Chapter 12

"I see that you have brought me the ashes," Rhunon said.

Oromis and Vanir returned to Rhunon's home to see her refresh her garden with magic. The flowers she had were of spread out randomly throughout the garden. Roses and lilies dominated the patch though, but still the garden was filled from edge to edge with color.

They stepped into Rhunon's home that smelled of crushed berries and delicious fruit. The room was not very big, but you could not classify it as small either. A fireplace was located to the right of the doorway and a small welding station was located next to it. A round table could be found to the left with a small sink, a rug covered the floor that was designed with elegant patterns and colors. Fairths were on the walls that pictured loved ones or a spectacular scene in nature, and the room was complete with a stash of weapons next to the fireplace and welding station.

"What is so special about the ashes?" Vanir asked with his still scratchy throat.

"You'll see," Oromis said as he opened the first jar.

Oromis then opened the other jars and passed them to Rhunon while talking. "You know the legend of the Menoa tree, right?"

"Yes, every elf knows. The female elf merged herself with the tree after killing a man," replied Vanir.

"You are correct, Vanir. But you see, the elf that merged herself with the tree was not alone. She had help," Oromis said. "She had help from a dragon egg."

Rhunon took out two swords as Vanir said, "A dragon egg?"

"Yes," Rhunon added. "She took some strength from the infant dragon. Causing not only her to merge, but the dragon too."

"Then that means…" said Vanir.

"Yes, dragon blood ran through the tree."

Rhunon took the ashes, placed them in a pot, and added a mixture of water, herbs, and some foul-smelling liquid. She then lit a fire in the fireplace and placed the pot over the flames. She then took out a welding hammer and placed the two swords onto the table.

"What are you doing Rhunon svit-kona?" Vanir asked.

"Rhunon is making a special compound that can be layered onto a blade, or two in this case," Oromis said. "With this compound, the swords may cut through any weak blade or the toughest armor. It gives the wielder strength and flows stamina and adrenaline through the wielder's system. It may also do simple tasks that no ordinary sword could do. It could open any lock or signal any being without draining the wielders strength."

Vanir stared at Rhunon who took the mixture and the swords and laid them side-by-side. She then took the mixture and poured it into a pure silver sheath. Then Rhunon quickly took one sword and dipped it into the sheath that was filled with the liquid. After a minute she took it out and Vanir saw that it was the color of an ordinary sword even though it was supposed to be one of the most powerful swords in history. Rhunon then took a knife and chipped part of both swords and then left the chips to the side.

Rhunon then repeated the process with the other sword, but this time part of the compound fell out of the sheath and landed on the floor that then began to sizzle and eat away at it. As Oromis cleaned the acid, Vanir saw Rhunon take out the first sword and then placed it next to the second.

Rhunon took both of the chips and placed the opposite chip over the other sword. She said, "_Blothr_," and the chips hovered over the swords.

Then Rhunon quickly said, "_Atra orya knifrz gath tra sudavar konecs du liretha._"

Vanir barely heard her say the words it was so fast, even for his ears. But it did not matter for when Rhunon finished she dropped both chips and they connected to the silver blades at the same time. Then light seeped out of one sword while the room seemed to grow darker from the other. Rhunon then took both swords and then touched them together that then caused them to join into one blade.

Oromis took the blade while saying, "This is one of the finest blades you ever made, but then you even added the Menoa and the dragon egg and it is now perfect."

But then something clicked in Vanir's head and he asked, "Rhunon svit-kona, did you not swear to never make another sword again?"

"You are correct," she said. "I spent hours thinking of how I could help my queen, though I could do nothing without making a blade. So I inspected the Ancient Language words that I said and I found that I only said I would make one, not modify."

Then Oromis added, "So the Army destroying the Menoa was a half-blessing, yet the tree will always be sorely missed."

Vanir nodded in agreement. His father had told him the wonders that the Menoa did for the land and the people. Yet something was bothering him.

"Oromis-elda? Why would Eragon need a blade this powerful?" he asked.

Oromis turned stern and said, "Because, Vanir, Galbatorix's sword is still more powerful than this one. It is because Galbatorix's sword is the Vault of Souls."

"What!?" Arya said. "What happened!?"

They were all still in the courtyard where Eragon and the others had sparred.

"I am sorry Lady Arya. I was not told anything other than that," said the soldier who was pretty much cowering from the anger coming from Arya. "Lady Nasuada told me to summon you."

Eragon noticed that Arya was always touchy when it came to her country. Maybe it was the fact that she was the heir, or maybe it was because she feared for her mother. But in any form you had to know that elves were capable of emotion just like humans. The only thing different was their skill and their ability to hide them longer.

Not only that but Eragon could see that Arya was becoming more like a human every day. Of course this was not a physical change, but the fact about it was that she would show more emotion than Eragon knew during their time in Farthen Dur.

Eragon stood with Roland and the others as they watched Arya run to Nasuada's study.

"Go, Shadeslayer, you can fill us in later," Roland said.

"Yeah we can wait," Demyx said, mocking Roland. "It is that one of our biggest allies that had been attacked."

"You may come," Eragon said before Roland could get mad at Demyx. "You helped me and Arya escape. That puts you in a good position."

"Let us go. Or else Lady Arya will kill Nasuada while trying to get information," Artemis said.

"Ah, I see we're all excited about the news," Hermes said. "Even you want to know what happened."

Artemis grunted and started walking to Nasuada's study.

"Yes," Eragon said. "Let's go."

"Thank you, Shadeslayer," Roland said.

The walk to Nasuada's room was a long one. It did not help that nobody was talking. All of them just wondered what happened. It was obviously bad, even if Ellesmera won that meant that the city was discovered and would then be an attack target.

Finally, they reached the room and entered to see just Nasuada with her face in her hands.

"Nasuada, what's wrong?" Eragon inquired while stepping over a broken vase.

"Lady Nasuada?" Demyx asked.

She whispered so silently that they barely heard her.

"Islanzadi was taken…"

Eragon just barely saw Artemis' eyes narrow.

"Tell me, my _Queen_. What do you know of the Vault of Souls?"

Islanzadi was in Uru'baen. Lucifer had used yet another of his infamous teleport gems which brought her to this hellhole.

You would not normally call the room she was in, a cell. The room was lavishly colored with exotic reds and purples. Blue curtains hung from giant windows that presently hid the setting sun. Books and furniture lined the room and an expensive looking crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.

"Why do ask me about the Vault of Souls when your master has it?" Islanzadi asked.

She was pretty much the same as her daughter. They would both always get the most information out anyone, even if that meant pain.

"I would like to point out one thing my Queen," Kronos said. "Galbatorix is not my master. I am ruled by nobody."

"I would have to disagree with you," Islanzadi retorted. "You take orders from him like a dog. And I have a point for you: Do not call me, Queen. You chose to leave your lineage to our country for power. You are no longer an elf, you are a fool."

Islanzadi prepared herself for a punch to the stomach or some kind of pain, but nothing came.

"I am sorry, Islanzadi, but habits die hard, right? Just like stubborn fools like yourself."

"Roland, can I ask you a question?" Eragon said after they left the room.

"You just did, but anyway, ask away."

"Do you remember when we were escaping Helgrind and Lucifer said that the last egg was there? Do you think he could have been telling the truth?"

Roland thought a minute before answering, "I guess it could have been true. But under the circumstances I believe that he was trying to get in your head. Besides, Galbatorix would not trust something as important as that to the men of Helgrind, even with about one hundred Sellfar."

"How sure are you?"


	13. Chapter 13

It had been three days since Oromis and Vanir had left.

Nothing much happened after the swords were modified, there was only a mourning ceremony for the Menoa tree.

The Hadarac desert was not a lively place. Though they did see some giant lizards that Oromis identified as Xacks, one of the closest relatives to dragons.

The trip was not all that fascinating, nothing happened except for the delays from sandstorms in which Oromis would conjure up a cave of sand to house them. Though at one point, one of the Xacks attacked Vanir, but was quickly killed to the dismay of Oromis.

"Vanir, I know you are anxious but please. You do not need to do such things."

Vanir knew about everything about Eragon. The new Eragon. News of his return and the story of his escape reached the elves the same day that the swords were created. Vanir still thought of it as hard to believe, but with a promise he swore never to chastise Eragon on his new form.

"Oromis-elda?" Vanir said while setting up camp for the night.

"Yes, Vanir," Oromis replied.

"I feel uneasy. It is as if enemies are everywhere. First Lord Xemnas and Lord Draith become Shades and now Eragon…"

"Do not fret," Oromis said while gathering strength. The words Vanir chose were obvious to probably anyone but elves. "You may know of the Lords' betrayal but they were our people once before. My brother was always a kind one, it is not his fault of what evil fell upon him."

Oromis released the magic on the bowmen that was aiming at Vanir's head. A simple blood clot in his heart killed him as he clutched his chest. But Vanir chose a different method; he caused the muscle in a man's neck to liquefy and his neck snapped without the support.

The skirmish lasted almost ten seconds. By the time that Oromis had crushed his fourth vital organ and Vanir his third head, the seven bodies lay on the ground dead.

"Do you think there is more, Oromis-elda?"

"No, Vanir," said Oromis. "This was a scouting group which means-"

"There is a command post around here."

The day was bright. Nothing seemed to be wrong…and it bothered Eragon.

Demyx and Hermes were fighting as usual over who is the better fighter. Eragon wondered how they could be best friends. Of course he and Roran had been in many fights but these guys would pull out fists.

He and Arya were sitting under the shade of a tree watching Roland pull two "idiots" away from each other. Eragon was amused at them; Roland was practically the only way to get peace from them.

"One day they are going to hurt each other too much," Arya said.

Demyx was on the ground from a punch from Hermes and sprawling on the ground with a broken nose.

"Your turn Arya," said Eragon.

The fights happened so frequently that Arya and Eragon had come to the conclusion that they would alternate between healing from those two's wounds. Just the other day Eragon had to heal a broken arm.

Arya got up and walked toward Roland, Demyx, and Hermes while Artemis appeared behind Eragon.

"How are you Artemis?" said Eragon.

"Humph…" said Artemis, but thankfully Eragon spoke "Artemis" so that meant 'I'm fine.'

Eragon lay back down and closed his eyes. He still had that feeling, it was killing him. Nothing seemed to make it go away; it lingered like a bad taste.

"You need to learn to relax more," Artemis said.

Arya, after healing Demyx's nose, walked toward the two and casually said, "Hello."

"Good morning, Lady Arya," he responded.

For some reason, Artemis always seemed to give respect to Arya and no one else. He would sometimes act like he cared, which was probably a façade. At one point he pointed out a skill of Eragon's but then he'd talk about what was wrong with Eragon's form.

Eragon hated how Artemis acted sometimes. He would always lose to Eragon (except for the times when he cheated). But then he'd talk about how Eragon did not execute a move with enough speed.

"I'm going to go see Nasuada and Orrin," stated Eragon.

"Go tell her to relax," said Artemis.

_Your one weird guy, Artemis_, thought Eragon.

_He is not weird, little one,_ said Saphira. _He is trying to help a friend._

Saphira was walking past Eragon to go rest on a sun-scorched rock. For the past few days, Saphira always wanted to go anywhere with an enormous amount of heat. This was not very different but it was unusual for a dragon to sleep on top of the kitchen tower to be close to the steam and fire of roasting poultry.

_I call him that because he only treats other people with respect._

_He only treats them with respect because he feels that they deserve it,_ chastised Saphira. _Little one, you must realize that you have done the same thing at one point in your life. He is only…human._

Saphira dropped her head to gaze into Eragon's eyes. Her new dark scales seemed to highlight her regular blue eyes.

"Thank you, Saphira. I leave you to your rest now."

_You are welcome, little one. I love you._

Kronos heard the scream from the other side of the castle.

He smirked and wondered what evil his brother had done. Lucifer was known for his torture methods. If Kronos was not as stuck up to his younger sibling he would have admitted to Lucifer that he was the better torturer.

Kronos stepped onto the grass of the courtyard and they blades of it suddenly turned brown and shriveled. He took his slim sword and brought it to his lips, Galbatorix would understand the death of one servant.

Kronos licked the bloodstained sword and felt the warm liquid touch his nerves, sending messages to his brain, which then calculated, to the feeling of pleasure.

Kronos admitted that he was addicted to the iron taste of blood. He was not sure if he loved the taste or if he loved to bring the blade down on one's neck more. It did not matter though, the feeling was complete anyway, it did not matter which one was better as long as they were together.

Kronos sheathed his sword and walked to Islanzadi's room. He could smell the blood in the air, a lot of it.

He stopped at the door and took a deep breath. As much as he wanted to kill her he could not.

Kronos opened the door to reveal Lucifer gripping Islanzadi's head. The queen was still in her regal garments but by now they were stained with her blood. Her whole arm was covered with cuts that bled like hell. But Lucifer was showing his skill in his "field" for her arm was bleeding so much but yet the queen was on the edge of consciousness. He kept her in the waking world so she would feel the pain to the maximum level.

"What is her condition?" said Kronos with a smile.

"She knows you are in the room if that will answer the question. Now leave me."

"No, brother," said Kronos. "I would like to see you at your best."

Lucifer continued his work without a word. He took his own concoction and poured it over the cuts. The liquid was a mixture of human blood, wild mushrooms, and any poison, along with two months of aging and a daily amount of magic. After it was finished it would become even deadlier than seithr oil.

Though the mixture did not do what one would think a torture device does. It would heal the wounds and calm the nerves and send waves of relief to the brain but then after a short time it would mix with the blood and thicken the blood and cause the heart to work harder and then with the new cuts it would quicken to such a fast pace that it would burst…if you were human. It was the perfect torture method for an elf, and Lucifer had learned the hard way.

Islanzadi's breath became steady and even then she seemed to relax, the depressant was working. Lucifer walked over to Kronos.

"She has only said three words, 'Go to hell.'"

"We must learn the secrets of the Vault," Kronos said angrily. "You have to get her to-"

"Do you think that I do not no this? Do you think that because she is my former queen that I am not doing all I can? Leave me now, brother," Lucifer replied with a snarl.

"I am your superior, now listen to me-"

"Leave, Xemnas!"

Murtagh left the room. They had not noticed him under his cloak of magic, maybe Galbatorix had taught him something after all.

It was time to report this interesting piece of information.


	14. Chapter 14

READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I know this is confusing for some people, okay everyone. But I highly suggest that you go to fanfiction. to read this. I am under the username skydragon.

Here is the direct link to it http://fanfiction. story is probably going to be updated even faster over there so if you want read this chapter and then go to the page and read up to chapter 18 over there. Probably not going to update here anymore so go to the link (if it pops up as a link)

"It seems that we have a mystery to solve."

"Yeah…I think we do…" replied Vanir. He just stared at the sheer size of the crater.

Oromis and Vanir were gazing over an enormous ridge. A giant sand-hole spread out to a length and width of more than a mile.

Inside the trench were people working, probably slaves. They were taking a type of blue and white ore from various caves. The stones sparkled and reflected light all around with amazing beauty.

Inside the hole were various metal objects and carts. Tracks became a labyrinth of road, smoke burned from smokestacks, and huts lined the top-right side of the view to Vanir and Oromis.

A crack of a whip close of them drew their attention. They saw an old man being beaten by two men. Vanir could smell the alcohol in their breath from where he was standing behind a rock.

The two men mercilessly hit the man over…and over…and over. Nothing was going to make them stop.

Vanir had had enough and took his bow. He put two arrows and attached them to the string and fired, catching one man in the heart, the other the head.

"You really are an expert with a projectile, Vanir."

Vanir didn't respond but then ran to the man. He checked the man's neck and said, "No pulse…he's dead."

"Even if we saved him he had no where to go. Besides, he would have died from his wounds, he was most likely dead after the first kick," Oromis said. "Come. We must find out what that ore is."

Vanir followed Oromis down the steep hill and cast a magic barrier to prevent them from being seen.

"I detect magic," Oromis said casually.

_How are you Oromis?_

_Hello my dear friend,_ Oromis replied to the sudden voice. _Does your leg hurt?_

_No, it is feeling quite well, _Glaedr replied. _But I wish to see you._

Oromis chuckled. _The great dragon wishes to see his master, but I must do this my friend. I swear that I shall see you again. Do not worry; it is only for a short time. I will be back in four months._

Glaedr returned the laugh. _I believe spending time with young Saphira has made me feel young when I wished to see you all the time._

Oromis recalled all the memories in which Glaedr would not sleep in the dragon compound unless Oromis was with him.

"Oromis-elda, look!" Vanir exclaimed.

_I shall talk to you later my friend, _Glaedr said and returned to his nap.

"What is it Vanir?"

Vanir pointed to where five slaves were fighting eight muscular guards. The guards must have thought of these slaves as replaceable for one took a spear and threw it at a slave, just missing his arm.

Then Hell broke loose.

The slaves were rebelling. They suddenly found a number of short-swords in the ground and they equipped themselves with their own spears. It seemed like all the slaves started to attack their holders, all except two. These two stood at two different carts filled with the sparkling blue gems.

It was obvious that the guards were going to be the victors. They had more experience and surprisingly more numbers. Vanir snuck a look at the two men again. One man had the numbers 777 embedded into his arm. This man stood by one smokestack while the other one stood by a giant hut centered in the trench, the warden's house. That man had the number 666 on his arm.

It seemed as if the battle would end in many casualties. The sand was filled with blood and the dropped weapons of the fallen.

After half-an-hour and after about three-fourths of the slaves were dead Vanir saw the 777 man and the 666 man take daggers out of their cloaks.

All of a sudden a booming voice came out of nowhere.

"You all have fought bravely my brothers!" Vanir saw that 666 was speaking. "But you guards are nothing but cowards! You will realize that I am the leader of this rebellion! Come! Kill me! I am not afraid of death! Let the name Nero be known! I will kill you all!"

666 or Nero took the dagger and lifted it above his head and brought it down upon the stones, 777 mimicked his action.

The blades touched the stones and then a chain of explosions filled the crater.

The sound was deafening. The light was blinding. And death followed.

"Nasuada?" Eragon asked, trying to get permission to enter.

Nasuada grunted approval.

Nasuada's office could be described as many things, clean was not one of them. The curtains were hardly open, giving out almost no light. Papers and books littered the regal patterns of the carpet and the bookshelf looked as if a fist had hit it many a time. But Nasuada found a way to clean part of her desk and use that small space as her "mini-desk."

"How are you, Nasuada?"

Nasuada mumbled a short phrase.

"What?" Eragon said.

"I can't do this anymore…" she said.

Nasuada burst into tears.

Eragon did not really know how to handle a situation like this. Usually someone would help him such as Garrow or Roran. He never really helped anyone like this.

Eragon walked over to Nasuada and held her, as a brother would comfort a sister. He said her name softly continually and he staid in that position. She cried and cried and Eragon just whispered, "It's okay…you're not alone…"

Nasuada slowly gained composure over herself and looked up into Eragon's dark eyes.

"I… I am sorry… Thank you."

Eragon tried to give a reassuring smile. "I always say it's better to not hold it in. Cause if you do then the tears will just be there and will come out eventually."

"Thank you," she replied to the comment. "May I ask what you are doing here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you," he lied.

"You don't have to lie you know," she said. "Why'd you come to see me?"

Eragon took a deep breath. He didn't know why because he was just offering a suggestion.

"How do you feel about taking Helgrind?"


	15. Chapter 15

Okay people, this is not a real chapter. I am just saying that I am not going to update chapters here anymore.

Wait wait theres more.

I am still continuing the story from the website fanfiction. under the username skydragon

Here is the direct link: http://fanfiction (dot) shurtugal (dot) com/viewstory.php?sid10916

I do hope you'll go here and read the rest of my fic. It would be awesome if you did. People have been telling me that this is just too confusing so it would best if you read in on shurtugal fanfction.

This does not mean I am no longer posting on 


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